I only know Iowa. Iowa city, Cedar Rapids and Des Moines are nice places to live. I would choose Des Moines because it’s largest of all these cities. Plenty of opportunities for work. Very nice area to grow kids. But you have to make your own decision about the weather. Of course it gets frigid cold in the winter.

Definitely recommend getting accurate tax advice on the current home. Changing ownership may have a huge impact on property taxes. California reassesses tax base upon sale and you have a $260K increase in home value.

In California parents pass on the current property tax to children when they transfer ownership to them. I have friends paying 1970 property tax rates that live in homes that they bought or inherited from their parents.

Yes - been there, didn't do that. I live in CA and sold parents house instead of keeping it (didn't want it). New owner's jaw dropped when they saw the HUD-1 statement with property taxes. Just reminding OP to do any title transfer properly or they could have an irreversible adverse tax event.

Austin is too crowded, too expensive (for Texas) and too hyped up so I'd skip it. Depending on where you live in Houston, your house could get flooded and/or you will be getting tired of hurrications. Why not look in to San Antonio or Dallas metro?

Having said that, IMHO ... North Carolina is a better fit as in it lowers your COL w/o taking away too much of what you (probably don't realize you need but) have in Southern California. You'll still have the coast and mountains (Smokies!) within driving distance as well as other real big cities in the eastern corridor. Both Raleigh and Charlotte are great cities that offer a lot of bang for your buck!

Idaho Iowa I don't mean to offend anyone but unless you have a (great) job opportunity there or work in a field that is very specific to those states ... Why?

Good luck!

I can't think of anything more luxurious than owning my time. - remomnyc

If you start to seriously consider the Des Moines area and your wife has questions about call centers jobs, I'm probably going to be the best resource available. I've helped support the contact centers of the largest company in town for the last 15 or so years.

As far as living in Des Moines, if it wasn't for the weather it would be damn near perfect. I live in the suburbs about 20 miles from downtown and it takes me about 25 minutes to get to work. Crime is very low. Housing is pretty cheap, you can get a brand new 2,500 sqft house, 3 car garage, decent size lot in a nice suburb for a little over $300k. The only negative is that the tax burden overall is a little high. Property taxes are kind of ridiculous considering that we also have a income tax. A $300k house is going to cost you a minimum of $6,000/year in property taxes. No pro sports so college sports are king. Weekend getaways to KC and Minneapolis are 3-4 hours away. Last year Des Moines places #4 on the best places to live behind Austin, Colorado Springs, and Denver. Des Moines also ranks high in the amount of disposable income compared to other cities. Texas cities also rank high in this metric. [OT comments removed by admin LadyGeek]

As far as the person above asking why Idaho or Iowa, I'd ask what do you do in a place like Raleigh that you couldn't/can't do in a place like Des Moines? One of my friends came back last year for a class reunion and was bragging about how living in the big city(Chicago) was so awesome. I later found out that he lived and worked in Arlington Heights, which is a suburb an hour and a half from downtown(30 miles). I mentioned that we had went last year for a Bears game and he said "Fun, we only get into the city a couple of times per year". So in summary, he can brag to his friends that he lives in Chicago but the truth is that he lives in a suburb that's just like the suburb he would live in anywhere in the U.S. and does the same thing as everyone else that lives in the suburbs does. If you like to bike, Des Moines has you covered. If you like craft beer, Des Moines has you covered. If you like the theater, Des Moines has you covered. If you like 4 seasons, Des Moines has you covered. If you're a foodie, Des Moines has you covered. If you like to go to a lot of professional sporting events, Des Moines isn't going to do it for you. If you like to ski/climb mountains, Des Moines isn't going to do it for you. A place like Raleigh is going to have nicer parks and more scenery.

You should consider the Coeur d alene, ID area. Close to Spokane,WA. Can live in either WA or ID. Post Falls, ID (in between) is one of the fastest growing cities in the country. Awesome summers. Dry, sunny. Snow in winter is bearable, dry and lots of skiing. Good schools. WA has no income tax, Idaho has 6%. Sales tax in Spokane, WA is 8.1% to 8.8%. Idaho is lower. Post falls has lots of call centers. Low cost of living. Lots of affordable housing. And lots of Californians who are relocating here. And did I say it’s beautiful here, summer or winter?

You should consider the Coeur d alene, ID area. . . . Low cost of living. Lots of affordable housing. And lots of Californians who are relocating here.

If the Northwest places we've checked out are a reliable guide, an influx of Californians (and the money and services expectations they bring with them from their California careers and the sales of their California real estate) marks the imminent disappearance of "a low cost of living" and "lots of affordable housing" in their new location. That's not a criticism of Californians, just an observation of an economic phenomenon we've observed in several previously low-key and affordable places.

WOW. quite a diverse list. you need to narrow things down a bit. what is important to you? climate? politics? shoveling snow? proximity to wallmart? cost of living? house cost $/sq ft? views? proximity to parks? proximity to relatives/family? Proximity to valley forge?

may be some good bargains coming on the market soon in NC. check for mold and water damage.

I can kind of care less about weather as that does not pay your bills I just care about making a living.

I think once you live in the north after being in SoCal you will begin to care about the weather.

Have you considered other lower COL areas in California or nearby states (Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico)? Don't underestimate the disruption to your life in moving across the country from you or your partner's family.

It would be the same anywhere. If you go to Canada and don't immediately love Hockey, you'll stick out. If you go to Europe and think the death penalty is pretty good, you'll not fit in and will eventually adjust your values or probably leave.

Perhaps the best advice is, take 2 week vacations to the four states and see how you like them? I'm left leaning but like the style of Texas myself, it'd be a good place to make a mark if I were a younger man.

You should consider the Coeur d alene, ID area. . . . Low cost of living. Lots of affordable housing. And lots of Californians who are relocating here.

If the Northwest places we've checked out are a reliable guide, an influx of Californians (and the money and services expectations they bring with them from their California careers and the sales of their California real estate) marks the imminent disappearance of "a low cost of living" and "lots of affordable housing" in their new location. That's not a criticism of Californians, just an observation of an economic phenomenon we've observed in several previously low-key and affordable places.

Nothing against California or its residents (I have enjoyed my trips there, have been impressed with their academic campuses where I have attended several conferences and plan future trips to their public lands). But this observation is not only valid it is probably a dominant theme of the past 30 years or so with no end in sight. I suspect this is also true in the Southwest and comparative situations in the east (northerners moving into Florida etc Better quality food is however often a positive spinoff of this phenomenon.

You should consider the Coeur d alene, ID area. . . . Low cost of living. Lots of affordable housing. And lots of Californians who are relocating here.

If the Northwest places we've checked out are a reliable guide, an influx of Californians (and the money and services expectations they bring with them from their California careers and the sales of their California real estate) marks the imminent disappearance of "a low cost of living" and "lots of affordable housing" in their new location. That's not a criticism of Californians, just an observation of an economic phenomenon we've observed in several previously low-key and affordable places.

Nothing against California or its residents (I have enjoyed my trips there, have been impressed with their academic campuses where I have attended several conferences and plan future trips to their public lands). But this observation is not only valid it is probably a dominant theme of the past 30 years or so with no end in sight. I suspect this is also true in the Southwest and comparative situations in the east (northerners moving into Florida etc Better quality food is however often a positive spinoff of this phenomenon.

You may want to look at South Carolina also. There is a high level of manufacturing companies here in SC and they are all growing rapidly. Machinists are in great demand in both the Greenville/Anderson area and also in Charleston. Michelin, BMW, Volvo, TTI, First Quality, and many medium size companies supporting the big boys. Taxes and COL are also lower than NC.

I will second all the suggestions to visit before you relocate. may also want to rent for a year to truly learn the area. I have lived in Houston and for 8 years and very much liked living there. I have a cousin that lives in Des Moines and loves it.

good luck with your decisions

NC seems to be winning 2nd texas will consider SC as well as well as other states.

Charlotte and Raleigh are the 2 largest cities in NC and both have been prospering and growing at a rapid rate for a long time. Both have their share of traffic problems but nothing like Southern California. NC has a flat rate for state income tax: 5.49% with very few deductions. The weather is nice except for the hot humid days of July and August. People complain the heat and humidity but it has never bothered me much. I am active outdoors year round at age 74. Also, our humidity is not nearly as bad as the coast or Florida.

Both cities have a lot to offer. Charlotte is 2 hours from the mountains and 3.5 hours to the coast. Raleigh is further to the mountains but closer to the coast. Charlotte has a NFL team, the Panthers, and a NBA team, the Hornets. Raleigh has a NHL team and also has 3 major universities for college sports. There should be good job opportunities in both areas. I recommend that you visit sometime to get a feel for both areas. Greensboro and Winston Salem are mid sized cities that you also may want to check out.

+1. I think you should look at Charlotte first as it is a banking hub and HQ for some major banks like Bank of America among others and fits closely with your degree. I don’t think Idaho would offer anything great for employment, but you’d be solidly employed with a growth ceiling and earnings ceiling compared to Charlotte or Raleigh. I’d never move to Iowa just because of the climate, the weather in winter is grim to say the least. The people there are great however. Texas is in its own category and there are great job opportunities if you pick the right location. There ar parts of Texas I’d never move to if I had other options, but Austin is a great city and I like San Antonio a lot. Having spent time in each location, I’d zero in on NC and Texas. If you’ve never been to Charlotte you’ll be amazed the first time you go there.

I live most of the year in NC since retiring from CA. The first shock you will get is the hot humid weather. I've got used to the weather a bit but then we travel 1 month out of the summer. The people are fine and real estate is affordable. Traffic during peak times is as bad as anywhere you've been so plan on your commute from/To your work. For clarification, I'm talking about Charlotte area. Can't comment on Iowa but very much like the Boise area.

Might I suggest you look into the Greenville, South Carolina area? Both you and your wife have transferable skills and would quickly find employment in your related fields. Greenville is in upstate SC, and is close to the mountains of North Carolina (Asheville) and is about two hour drive to either Charlotte,NC or Atlanta, GA. There are several large corporations (BMW, Michelin) and manufactures are clamoring for skilled workers. The climate is relatively moderate in the winter and summers are not as hot and humid as much of the Southeast. Taxes are favorable, health care is excellent, and the overall cost of living is lower than average. Please do yourself a favor and research the area.

It's been 15 years since I left, but I loved Boise. Nice weather, and had big-city amenities without too much traffic/congestion. Boise is by far the largest city in Idaho. Although areas out in the eastern part of the state (Pocatello, Idaho Falls) also seemed very nice.

I was not a big fan of Texas. Too hot for my northerner blood. Extremely aggressive drivers (specifically in San Antonio). San Angelo is a very small town.

Fayetteville is one of the most military-heavy cities in the country. It gets bad rap (Fayettenam!), but has made strides in the last 20 years or so. I really liked Raleigh...and really, really liked areas out in western North Carolina (Asheville and surrounding areas).

If weather REALLY isn't a factor...don't overlook areas in the Dakotas!

Definitely recommend getting accurate tax advice on the current home. Changing ownership may have a huge impact on property taxes. California reassesses tax base upon sale and you have a $260K increase in home value.

In California parents pass on the current property tax to children when they transfer ownership to them. I have friends paying 1970 property tax rates that live in homes that they bought or inherited from their parents.

Pros:
one of the best job markets in the nation
Housing prices are very affordable and wide selection
For an urban area, I have found people generally friendly, and there are many transplants here
No state income taxes. Property taxes and sales taxes are relatively high though

Pro/con:

Weather. More temperate than north and upper Midwest but wide range of weather. Can get very hot. Houston is more humid. Can also occasionally snow and sleet and stop traffic for days. Last year in pockets it got down to single digits one day - first I ever recall that happening, but that was otherwise a nice day.

School systems: they can be good but you have to look in right area. We have generally been happy with ours.

Cons:

Occasionally weather. There is a month or two in summer that you often really don't want to go outside.

Traffic: it is bad, but probably not worse than other major cities. Actually it is getting somewhat better with some major highway construction finishing up.

Scenic beauty: CA it isn't, but there are pockets. Austin is probably best in that regard.

Tornados and hail storms - they happen.

Various tidbits:

- Houston would be my least favorite between dfw, Austin and Houston
- Austin has more culture in terms of music scene, and more outdoor activity opportunities with the hills and waterways
- I am somewhat knowledgeable of small refrigeration companies and can say good techs get paid very well, but it is hard work. With the wildly varying weather refrigeration techs are in high demand. As you probably know it is a specialized skill and requires aptitude and problem solving skills and enough people skills to interface with clients. People who are good at it often do better than people with many college degrees.

- with oil and gas industry, plus some other manufacturing (automotive, aircraft parts, etc) I suspect machining is in good demand too.

I get mixed results with houston vs austin but there better be good BBQ.

Definitely recommend getting accurate tax advice on the current home. Changing ownership may have a huge impact on property taxes. California reassesses tax base upon sale and you have a $260K increase in home value.

In California parents pass on the current property tax to children when they transfer ownership to them. I have friends paying 1970 property tax rates that live in homes that they bought or inherited from their parents.

Yes - been there, didn't do that. I live in CA and sold parents house instead of keeping it (didn't want it). New owner's jaw dropped when they saw the HUD-1 statement with property taxes. Just reminding OP to do any title transfer properly or they could have an irreversible adverse tax event.

Have to ask why didnt you want your parent's house? we might do a quitclaim deed if not have them sell. Out of curiosity what were the taxes and why so much?

Austin is too crowded, too expensive (for Texas) and too hyped up so I'd skip it. Depending on where you live in Houston, your house could get flooded and/or you will be getting tired of hurrications. Why not look in to San Antonio or Dallas metro?

Having said that, IMHO ... North Carolina is a better fit as in it lowers your COL w/o taking away too much of what you (probably don't realize you need but) have in Southern California. You'll still have the coast and mountains (Smokies!) within driving distance as well as other real big cities in the eastern corridor. Both Raleigh and Charlotte are great cities that offer a lot of bang for your buck!

Idaho Iowa I don't mean to offend anyone but unless you have a (great) job opportunity there or work in a field that is very specific to those states ... Why?

Definitely recommend getting accurate tax advice on the current home. Changing ownership may have a huge impact on property taxes. California reassesses tax base upon sale and you have a $260K increase in home value.

In California parents pass on the current property tax to children when they transfer ownership to them. I have friends paying 1970 property tax rates that live in homes that they bought or inherited from their parents.

Yes - been there, didn't do that. I live in CA and sold parents house instead of keeping it (didn't want it). New owner's jaw dropped when they saw the HUD-1 statement with property taxes. Just reminding OP to do any title transfer properly or they could have an irreversible adverse tax event.

Have to ask why didnt you want your parent's house? we might do a quitclaim deed if not have them sell. Out of curiosity what were the taxes and why so much?

None of us wanted to live in the house or keep it as out-of-town landlords. Property taxes under Proposition 13 (house purchased in mid 1970s) were a couple thousand per year. Current sale price put taxes over $10,000.

If you start to seriously consider the Des Moines area and your wife has questions about call centers jobs, I'm probably going to be the best resource available. I've helped support the contact centers of the largest company in town for the last 15 or so years.

As far as living in Des Moines, if it wasn't for the weather it would be damn near perfect. I live in the suburbs about 20 miles from downtown and it takes me about 25 minutes to get to work. Crime is very low. Housing is pretty cheap, you can get a brand new 2,500 sqft house, 3 car garage, decent size lot in a nice suburb for a little over $300k. The only negative is that the tax burden overall is a little high. Property taxes are kind of ridiculous considering that we also have a income tax. A $300k house is going to cost you a minimum of $6,000/year in property taxes. No pro sports so college sports are king. Weekend getaways to KC and Minneapolis are 3-4 hours away. Last year Des Moines places #4 on the best places to live behind Austin, Colorado Springs, and Denver. Des Moines also ranks high in the amount of disposable income compared to other cities. Texas cities also rank high in this metric. [OT comments removed by admin LadyGeek]

As far as the person above asking why Idaho or Iowa, I'd ask what do you do in a place like Raleigh that you couldn't/can't do in a place like Des Moines? One of my friends came back last year for a class reunion and was bragging about how living in the big city(Chicago) was so awesome. I later found out that he lived and worked in Arlington Heights, which is a suburb an hour and a half from downtown(30 miles). I mentioned that we had went last year for a Bears game and he said "Fun, we only get into the city a couple of times per year". So in summary, he can brag to his friends that he lives in Chicago but the truth is that he lives in a suburb that's just like the suburb he would live in anywhere in the U.S. and does the same thing as everyone else that lives in the suburbs does. If you like to bike, Des Moines has you covered. If you like craft beer, Des Moines has you covered. If you like the theater, Des Moines has you covered. If you like 4 seasons, Des Moines has you covered. If you're a foodie, Des Moines has you covered. If you like to go to a lot of professional sporting events, Des Moines isn't going to do it for you. If you like to ski/climb mountains, Des Moines isn't going to do it for you. A place like Raleigh is going to have nicer parks and more scenery.

[Response to OT comments removed by admin LadyGeek] but yeah as long as it has good BBQ ok just a figure of speech obviously that wont pay my bills, but looking for something affordable the only that scares me about IOWA is the weather -60f really? and driving in the snow so seems like snow tires is necessary and 2 cars which none are 4wd.

WOW. quite a diverse list. you need to narrow things down a bit. what is important to you? climate? politics? shoveling snow? proximity to wallmart? cost of living? house cost $/sq ft? views? proximity to parks? proximity to relatives/family? Proximity to valley forge?

may be some good bargains coming on the market soon in NC. check for mold and water damage.

I can kind of care less about weather as that does not pay your bills I just care about making a living.

I think once you live in the north after being in SoCal you will begin to care about the weather.

Have you considered other lower COL areas in California or nearby states (Oregon, Arizona, New Mexico)? Don't underestimate the disruption to your life in moving across the country from you or your partner's family.

Yes I have considered others, holland Mi, NM, AZ, SC. to be honest she does not have family in California, I do I have many but they are family by blood not what you define family last time I seen them was at a funeral so yeah.

It would be the same anywhere. If you go to Canada and don't immediately love Hockey, you'll stick out. If you go to Europe and think the death penalty is pretty good, you'll not fit in and will eventually adjust your values or probably leave.

Perhaps the best advice is, take 2 week vacations to the four states and see how you like them? I'm left leaning but like the style of Texas myself, it'd be a good place to make a mark if I were a younger man.

You should consider the Coeur d alene, ID area. . . . Low cost of living. Lots of affordable housing. And lots of Californians who are relocating here.

If the Northwest places we've checked out are a reliable guide, an influx of Californians (and the money and services expectations they bring with them from their California careers and the sales of their California real estate) marks the imminent disappearance of "a low cost of living" and "lots of affordable housing" in their new location. That's not a criticism of Californians, just an observation of an economic phenomenon we've observed in several previously low-key and affordable places.

Nothing against California or its residents (I have enjoyed my trips there, have been impressed with their academic campuses where I have attended several conferences and plan future trips to their public lands). But this observation is not only valid it is probably a dominant theme of the past 30 years or so with no end in sight. I suspect this is also true in the Southwest and comparative situations in the east (northerners moving into Florida etc Better quality food is however often a positive spinoff of this phenomenon.

driving in the snow so seems like snow tires is necessary and 2 cars which none are 4wd.

Although I live in the South now, I spent my first 30 years in northern OH, southeastern MI and upstate NY, where snow is a regular thing in the winter. Neither my parents nor I ever had snow tires or 4WD. In the smallish cities (50K-100K) where I lived, you could usually count on the streets being cleared pretty quickly.

If the streets don't get cleared, people get mad. IIRC one of Chicago's mayors in the 1980s got voted out of office partly because of poor performance of city crews in a series of snowstorms.

Down here on the other hand, a few inches of snow (which does happen every few years where I live) pretty much shuts down most towns because they don't have snowplows.

My investing princiPLEs do not include absolutely preserving princiPAL.

Definitely recommend getting accurate tax advice on the current home. Changing ownership may have a huge impact on property taxes. California reassesses tax base upon sale and you have a $260K increase in home value.

In California parents pass on the current property tax to children when they transfer ownership to them. I have friends paying 1970 property tax rates that live in homes that they bought or inherited from their parents.

Are you saying they are paying taxes since the 70's?

I'm saying that the property tax that my friends are paying on homes purchased or inherited from their parents in the past few years are near 1970's amounts due to Proposition 13 and other protections granted in California.

Compared to SoCal (where my S-I-L lives) I would say NC has SoCal beat hands down in affordability of homes, culture (especially high culture), parking facilities and crime.

You totally had me until "high culture!" What the heck is high culture and how could NC ever have anything remotely resembling it?

Presumably you mean high-brow elements such as museums, art, plays, symphonies, etc? Unfortunately, if that's the case there is simply no comparison. I'm sure to the outside observer the sheer quantity of "low culture" in So Cal overwhelms, but it is a vast metropolis literally filled with the fancy flavors. Disney Hall, LA Philharmonic, LA Opera, LA Ballet, the Getty, the Greek, the Ford, the Ahmanson, Hollywood Bowl, countless Museums of Art, the Geffen, Page Museum, Natural History Museum, Griffith park, etc... And, that's just a few in Los Angeles. Of course, LA county is more populous than the entire state of NC so no real surprise. But, OC and SD combined are also about the size of NC with an equal assortment of foo-foo.

OP: Don't move to NC thinking there's gonna be some sort of culture explosion. It ain't gonna happen. That said, you certainly might be able to experience more of it given the dramatically reduced traffic profile!

By all means feel free to correct me but "culture explosion" you're meaning any race outside of the "norm?"

You are hereby corrected. "Culture explosion" was a reference to laughlinlvr's suggestion that there was more "high culture" e.g., ballet, symphonies, plays, etc in NC than So Cal. I was just stating that this is actually not the case in the event you were into the fancy leisure time activities. Nothing to do with race.

Austin - the not as good
- There's no real Mexican food here, 99% of it is "tex-mex" (think cheese from a can.) Locals will get offended if you knock it, but the tex-mex is terrible. (Brisket in a taco?) You can find the good MX but it's an effort

Cheese from a can? Where are you going for Tex-Mex? And what's wrong with brisket in a taco? It's just weird and rare to see someone that so dislikes tex-mex. Also, there's PLENTY of real Mex or Central American food in Texas if you move away from the big chains. I'd say food is the one of the best things about Texas.

The weather is admittedly bad if you don't like the heat, but I'd say it beats shoveling snow. I love the cold and I love snow, but living with it on a day to day basis is a royal pain.

Traffic is also awful, but this can be mitigated by living close to work. If you are moving and don't have a job lined up, you will encounter a chicken-or-egg problem on that front.

You say that you don't care about weather, but then mention that you don't want your house flooded. That could rule out places like Houston, and where did that last hurricane hit the other week? That's right, NC. You also mention tornadoes, and yep, TX has those too, among many other types of severe weather. Saying that you don't care about the weather is truly spoken by someone who hasn't spent a summer in Houston or a winter in Iowa/Idaho, three places I could NEVER live. Austin has major traffic issues and the COL has skyrocketed in the last decade.

Summers in Houston lol.. I moved 3 years ago from Orange County CA and I can tell you will appreciate California's weather IMMENSELY! If that doesn't get you, the humidity, the mosquitoes, flying roaches , rain and some other wonderful things you will find out after living here.
The good thing is that it is a bit more affordable especially if you have kids but I do not considered Houston a LCOL area to me. You can buy a really nice house for 300k and schools are pretty good from what I hear. Flooding well just make sure you don't live in a flood zone.

You say that you don't care about weather, but then mention that you don't want your house flooded. That could rule out places like Houston, and where did that last hurricane hit the other week? That's right, NC. You also mention tornadoes, and yep, TX has those too, among many other types of severe weather. Saying that you don't care about the weather is truly spoken by someone who hasn't spent a summer in Houston or a winter in Iowa/Idaho, three places I could NEVER live. Austin has major traffic issues and the COL has skyrocketed in the last decade.

Summers in Houston lol.. I moved 3 years ago from Orange County CA and I can tell you will appreciate California's weather IMMENSELY! If that doesn't get you, the humidity, the mosquitoes, flying roaches , rain and some other wonderful things you will find out after living here.
The good thing is that it is a bit more affordable especially if you have kids but I do not considered Houston a LCOL area to me. You can buy a really nice house for 300k and schools are pretty good from what I hear. Flooding well just make sure you don't live in a flood zone.

Oh yeah the people are really nice here.

I am one of the few who was never really bothered by the Houston weather, and I commuted by bike to school and work almost exclusively during my 5yrs there; sometimes well over 100 miles per week. Yeah, the people are really nice. I totally expected to hate Houston when I moved down there, I actually loved it.

Several of my wife's siblings and her parents moved to NC from NJ primarily to avoid cold winters.

In Laws lived in Southern Pines, not a lot of businesses there, mostly retail and golf-centric.

My brother in law lived in Greensboro area and recently retired from being a school teacher. He relocated closer to Charlotte this past year. I personally like the Raleigh area. Plenty of work in these economic times in Charlotte and Raleigh. Airport in Raleigh is just a few years old.

Property Taxes are super low but public schools are "meh" from what my brother in law reports

Good Luck with your decision!

My kids have done very well in the Guilford County public schools where Greensboro is located.

driving in the snow so seems like snow tires is necessary and 2 cars which none are 4wd.

Although I live in the South now, I spent my first 30 years in northern OH, southeastern MI and upstate NY, where snow is a regular thing in the winter. Neither my parents nor I ever had snow tires or 4WD. In the smallish cities (50K-100K) where I lived, you could usually count on the streets being cleared pretty quickly.

If the streets don't get cleared, people get mad. IIRC one of Chicago's mayors in the 1980s got voted out of office partly because of poor performance of city crews in a series of snowstorms.

Down here on the other hand, a few inches of snow (which does happen every few years where I live) pretty much shuts down most towns because they don't have snowplows.

Compared to SoCal (where my S-I-L lives) I would say NC has SoCal beat hands down in affordability of homes, culture (especially high culture), parking facilities and crime.

You totally had me until "high culture!" What the heck is high culture and how could NC ever have anything remotely resembling it?

Presumably you mean high-brow elements such as museums, art, plays, symphonies, etc? Unfortunately, if that's the case there is simply no comparison. I'm sure to the outside observer the sheer quantity of "low culture" in So Cal overwhelms, but it is a vast metropolis literally filled with the fancy flavors. Disney Hall, LA Philharmonic, LA Opera, LA Ballet, the Getty, the Greek, the Ford, the Ahmanson, Hollywood Bowl, countless Museums of Art, the Geffen, Page Museum, Natural History Museum, Griffith park, etc... And, that's just a few in Los Angeles. Of course, LA county is more populous than the entire state of NC so no real surprise. But, OC and SD combined are also about the size of NC with an equal assortment of foo-foo.

OP: Don't move to NC thinking there's gonna be some sort of culture explosion. It ain't gonna happen. That said, you certainly might be able to experience more of it given the dramatically reduced traffic profile!

By all means feel free to correct me but "culture explosion" you're meaning any race outside of the "norm?"

You are hereby corrected. "Culture explosion" was a reference to laughlinlvr's suggestion that there was more "high culture" e.g., ballet, symphonies, plays, etc in NC than So Cal. I was just stating that this is actually not the case in the event you were into the fancy leisure time activities. Nothing to do with race.

Thanks for the correction lol was not too sure but had a feeling, wanted to make sure is all, but yeah "high class" sounds like it.

Austin - the not as good
- There's no real Mexican food here, 99% of it is "tex-mex" (think cheese from a can.) Locals will get offended if you knock it, but the tex-mex is terrible. (Brisket in a taco?) You can find the good MX but it's an effort

Cheese from a can? Where are you going for Tex-Mex? And what's wrong with brisket in a taco? It's just weird and rare to see someone that so dislikes tex-mex. Also, there's PLENTY of real Mex or Central American food in Texas if you move away from the big chains. I'd say food is the one of the best things about Texas.

The weather is admittedly bad if you don't like the heat, but I'd say it beats shoveling snow. I love the cold and I love snow, but living with it on a day to day basis is a royal pain.

Traffic is also awful, but this can be mitigated by living close to work. If you are moving and don't have a job lined up, you will encounter a chicken-or-egg problem on that front.

You say that you don't care about weather, but then mention that you don't want your house flooded. That could rule out places like Houston, and where did that last hurricane hit the other week? That's right, NC. You also mention tornadoes, and yep, TX has those too, among many other types of severe weather. Saying that you don't care about the weather is truly spoken by someone who hasn't spent a summer in Houston or a winter in Iowa/Idaho, three places I could NEVER live. Austin has major traffic issues and the COL has skyrocketed in the last decade.

Summers in Houston lol.. I moved 3 years ago from Orange County CA and I can tell you will appreciate California's weather IMMENSELY! If that doesn't get you, the humidity, the mosquitoes, flying roaches , rain and some other wonderful things you will find out after living here.
The good thing is that it is a bit more affordable especially if you have kids but I do not considered Houston a LCOL area to me. You can buy a really nice house for 300k and schools are pretty good from what I hear. Flooding well just make sure you don't live in a flood zone.

Oh yeah the people are really nice here.

FLOOD.... the only thing that is keeping me from moving there. I hate to waste money only to find out it will be flooded in water.

nkotbbh....Hands down: Greensboro, NC. Access to airport, climate, college town, relatively low cost of living. The children will thrive in Greensboro.

its a war between NC and TX lol but to be honest NC seems to be the one winning and TX been second runner up, so NC seems to get more positive reviews and the winner will have me go vacation there to get a feel for the area.

WOW. quite a diverse list. you need to narrow things down a bit. what is important to you? climate? politics? shoveling snow? proximity to wallmart? cost of living? house cost $/sq ft? views? proximity to parks? proximity to relatives/family? Proximity to valley forge?

may be some good bargains coming on the market soon in NC. check for mold and water damage.

Make a simple chart with all your priorities labeled across the vertical columns. Then list all your cities down the horizontal rows. CaliJim gives a good start to the priorities list, but come up with real specific ones yourself. Then put a rating of 1 to 5 in each box and add up the cities' scores. Take the top three winners and work hard on those. Some scores are subjective like traffic and weather. Others can be quantified like taxes and quality of schools. Consider sharing your chart with your girlfriend and the kids and consider their comments too.

TX is:
Hot
Humid
Doesn't rain much
Getting crowded
Traffic is bad
8.25% sales tax
2-3% of the value of your home will be your annual property tax, and it will go up every year
Just so you know...

So property tax is how much monthly? and how much does it go up every year? and why does it go up every year?

A hypothetical $300k house property tax would be ~5-6k annually depending on all the taxing units involved. School districts (the largest portion of the bill by far), cities, hospital districts, water districts, etc, bill at slightly different rates depending on the municipality. So 5k/12 = 416 per month. 6k/12= 500 per month. 2% +\- of the appraised value of the home (by the taxing entity) is a good annual rule of thumb. I know I said 2-3% in an earlier post, but after thinking about it, 3% would be unusually high.

They go up ever year for all the reasons you might think:
1. Increased appraisal value (the RE market is hot)
2. Increased tax rate
3. New items to tax such as a school bond (all this growth means more students so more schools being built), new utility binds, fire stations, etc

Many people are seeing 10-15% annual increases in their tax bill. I read a story in the paper on a pretty regular basis about people freaking out about big increases in their bill.

TX does freeze your RE tax RATE at 65, but they can still get you via the back door by increasing the appraised value of your property.

TX is:
Hot
Humid
Doesn't rain much
Getting crowded
Traffic is bad
8.25% sales tax
2-3% of the value of your home will be your annual property tax, and it will go up every year
Just so you know...

So property tax is how much monthly? and how much does it go up every year? and why does it go up every year?

A hypothetical $300k house property tax would be ~5-6k annually depending on all the taxing units involved. School districts (the largest portion of the bill by far), cities, hospital districts, water districts, etc, bill at slightly different rates depending on the municipality. So 5k/12 = 416 per month. 6k/12= 500 per month. 2% +\- of the appraised value of the home (by the taxing entity) is a good annual rule of thumb. I know I said 2-3% in an earlier post, but after thinking about it, 3% would be unusually high.

They go up ever year for all the reasons you might think:
1. Increased appraisal value (the RE market is hot)
2. Increased tax rate
3. New items to tax such as a school bond (all this growth means more students so more schools being built), new utility binds, fire stations, etc

Many people are seeing 10-15% annual increases in their tax bill. I read a story in the paper on a pretty regular basis about people freaking out about big increases in their bill.

TX does freeze your RE tax RATE at 65, but they can still get you via the back door by increasing the appraised value of your property.

That matches my experience. My tax bill, in the Houston area, is about 2.5% of the Zillow price on my house. I think Zillow is a little high in our case. We got a very good deal on the property when we bought it after the housing crash. At that time we reset the appraised value to our purchase price. Since then the appraised value was raised by the maximum amount per year. Pretty much what we expected but I had hoped to be ready to downsize before it really kicked in, not happening. Best laid plans and all that.